Accidents Happen (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: An accident upends the morning in the McGarrett/Rollins house.


**Notes: **Huge thanks to Mari and Sammy for always being flexible and having my back. Special thanks to Mari for bouncing ideas and helping outline the story. You ladies are the best!

Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_Accidents Happen (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"Arms up," Steve said, holding the shirt Angie picked out up in front of her.

She dutifully raised both arms and he pulled the shirt down her arms and over her head.

"There we go. Do you want a ponytail?" he asked, reaching for the brush.

"No pony," she said, shaking her head, soft curls bouncing around her face.

"Okay, no pony, then." He stood, rubbing tired eyes after another long day working the Fairiborz case, including reviewing files with Catherine well into the night. "You're all dressed, now it's Daddy's turn."

As father and daughter walked out of Angie's room, she looked up at him and asked, "Whe' Mommy?"

"Mommy's still out running with Cammie," he told her.

"Mommy wunnin'?"

"Yeah, Mommy's a little stressed right now, and running helps."

Angie grinned. "I wunnin'!" she cried, taking off down the hallway and giggling.

Steve chuckled, following after her.

She was already climbing onto their bed as usual when he came in the room. With a smile in her direction, he walked over to the dresser and pulled out a t-shirt. Angie stood on the bed and started to bounce.

"Hey, uh uh, no bouncing, Angie," he said immediately. She pouted, but sat down. He pulled the shirt over his head and turned to open another drawer for a pair of cargoes.

Angie spotted Catherine's floral lotion bottle on her nightstand and crawled toward it. "Ooh p'itty," she said.

Steve glanced over to see what she was talking about just as she reached too far, falling off the bed and hitting her face on the edge of the nightstand before landing awkwardly on the floor.

"Angie!" he exclaimed, vaulting over the bed as she immediately started screaming, startled and hurt. He scooped her up, heart seizing, but still had enough presence of mind to assess her injuries. There was no blood, but her skin was red just below her eye where she hit the edge of the table. She pressed her face against him but screamed louder when that hurt her face.

"DADDY!"

"I'm here," he said, heart pounding. "I've got you."

From below he heard thundering steps coming up the stairs as Catherine and Cammie, having heard the screams from outside, ran upstairs and into the bedroom. Catherine's face was frantic as she came through the doorway.

"What–"

"She fell," Steve managed to get out.

"MOMMY!" Angie screamed as soon as she heard Catherine's voice, reaching for her.

Steve passed their daughter to her, and Catherine did a similar injury assessment, gingerly touching Angie's cheek just below her eye socket, causing the toddler to flinch and scream louder.

"Okay, okay, baby girl," Catherine said softly. "Okay."

Steve's wiped a hand over his face, his expression tortured.

Catherine, having ascertained there was no major injury, stepped toward the bed to sit. Angie clung to her, still crying, having found she could rest her other cheek against Catherine's shoulder without causing herself more pain.

As she stepped passed him, Catherine reached briefly to place a comforting hand on Steve's chest before returning it to rub Angie's back soothingly.

"I'm gonna get an ice pack," Steve said.

Catherine nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed with Angie. Cammie pressed close, nuzzling Angie's legs as the toddler's cries continued unabated.

"Shhhhhh, I know it hurts, baby girl. I'm here. Mommy's here." She kissed Angie's head gently. "Cammie, too. And Daddy's going to get you an ice pack and that'll help you feel better. Okay?"

Steve returned a minute later with one of Angie's boo boo bunnies.

"Look, Daddy got the blue one, your favorite," Catherine said. She took the ice pack Steve held out and placed it gently on Angie's cheek.

"NO!" Angie screamed at the pain, trying to push it away.

"It's going to make you feel better," Catherine insisted, trying again.

"Hug, Mommy," Angie whimpered, pressing her forehead against Catherine's neck.

"Okay," Catherine said, holding her closer.

Steve sat beside them and looked on, pained. Angie usually bounced right back from her various bumps and bruises, but this was clearly her most painful injury to date.

"Can Daddy try?" Catherine coaxed while handing Steve the boo boo bunny. "I promise it'll feel better."

Angie eyed him, fat tears rolling down her face, but didn't say no, so Steve gently put the ice pack on her cheek. She whimpered, but didn't push it away this time. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and closed his eyes momentarily.

"It's okay," Catherine said softly, speaking to both of him. "It's gonna be okay."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Esther knocked on the front door and then let herself in as normal. She saw Catherine on the sofa, still in her running clothes, with Angie wrapped around her in her lap. Steve was beside them in a t-shirt and sleep shorts, holding a fresh boo boo bunny to Angie's tear-stained cheek while Cammie stayed as close to her youngest human as she could get.

"We had a little accident this morning," Catherine told Esther, keeping her voice low and calm though Angie had finally stopped crying some ten minutes ago. "Angie took a tumble off our bed and hit the nightstand on the way down."

"Ohh, poor baby," Esther said, her expression sympathetic.

"Esta," Angie murmured, her voice uncharacteristically meek.

Knowing Steve and Catherine were working a big case, and that Angie was unlikely to let go of Catherine without some major encouragement, Esther set down her bag on the coffee table and said, "You know what I have a taste for? Some of my famous coconut pancakes."

Angie lifted her head slowly at the mention of one of her favorite meals and looked at Esther.

"Are you hungry, Angie? Do you want to help me make pancakes?"

Angie looked at Catherine who smiled encouragingly.

"Sounds delicious, baby girl," Catherine said.

Esther smiled, holding out her hands for Angie. "We'll go make pancakes while Mommy and Daddy get dressed, okay?"

"Panca'es," Angie said, her voice a little stronger, and reached for Esther.

"Here we go," Esther said, settling the toddler on her hip. She smiled at Steve and Catherine as the latter mouthed, "Thank you." Esther turned toward the kitchen. "Come on, Cammie," she said unnecessarily, as Cammie was already following, clearly intending to stay close to Angie.

Catherine and Steve sat for a moment, watching them disappear in the kitchen and then waiting to make sure Angie didn't call out for them. After a moment, Catherine put a hand on Steve's thigh, rubbing it reassuringly, and nodded toward the stairs.

They headed up to their bedroom together to finish getting ready for work. Catherine paused by the side of the bed to pick up the lotion bottle that fell. When she straightened, she noticed Steve had frozen in place, watching her.

"She's okay," she said, knowing immediately what he was thinking.

"But–"

"Steve," she said firmly, trying to stop him before he can even go down that road. "She's okay."

"Another inch and it would have been her eye."

"But it wasn't."

He fell silent, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

"She'll have a bruise," Catherine said calmly, stepping over to him and placing a hand against his chest. "It'll be a little sore for a couple days. That's it. She's okay."

"If I hadn't been so tired, maybe I could have responded quicker," he said.

"Steve, you were on the other side of the room," she said, repeating the details he'd related once Angie's screams had mellowed to softer cries. "There's nothing you could have done."

"I could've stopped her when she first climbed up on the bed," he argued.

"She always climbs on the bed when she's in here," she reminded him. "We're not going to forbid her from climbing on anything." A small smile flashed across her face. "I doubt we could even if we tried." She rubbed his chest. "She's a toddler. She's exploring her world. Plus, she's half you and half me. She's going to test her limits. Accidents are going to happen."

"But we're supposed to keep her safe," he said, clearly still affected by the incident. "_I'm_ supposed to keep her safe."

Her shoulders sagged slightly at the hitch in his voice, and she reached up to touch his cheek, drawing him down into a hug.

"She's okay," she repeated quietly. "She's gonna be just fine."

* * *

Steve and Catherine arrived at Five-0 HQ later than planned. Both had been reluctant to leave Angie who hadn't wanted them to go either, but they knew she was in very capable care with Esther and Cammie.

Upon entering the bullpen, Catherine gave Steve's arm a quick squeeze and headed over to where Chin and Kono were already reviewing new files at the smartboard. As she walked, she caught Danny's eye and nodded for him to follow Steve into his office.

Brow furrowing in concern, Danny did just that, pausing in the doorway to take in Steve's expression and body language.

"What's going on?" he asked when Steve didn't offer anything.

"Angie fell off our bed this morning," Steve said quietly. "Hit her face on the nightstand." He looked down as the scene replayed for the hundredth time in his head. The sound of her hitting the corner of the nightstand. The sight of her crumpled on the floor.

Danny was instantly concerned, moving into the office. "She's okay," he said, a statement and not a question, "otherwise you and Cath wouldn't be here."

Steve paused for a beat but acknowledged that was true with a nod. "Hit just below her eye," he said, brushing a finger on his own face to show the location. He swallowed thickly, closing his eyes. "An inch higher and …" He exhaled roughly, running a hand over his face. "I was in the room, but I couldn't stop it," he said, pained and frustrated. As fast as his highly trained reflexes were, he could not get there in time. "It happened so fast."

Danny nodded, understanding. "Blink of an eye."

"If I had just stood closer or … brought her a book or a toy or something to keep her occupied while I was getting dressed–"

"Hey, don't do that," Danny said, stepping closer. "It was not your fault. It was an accident. Kids have accidents. It's one of the few guarantees about kids."

"But–"

"I know what's going through your head," Danny said, cutting him off. "I've been there. Believe me." He shook his head. "When Grace was about five, she was on this playground near our house. She tried to jump and reach the monkey bars but they were way too high for her and she missed and fell. Sprained her wrist. I beat myself up for days, weeks even, for not standing closer. Not anticipating what she was going to do."

"Exactly," Steve said, knowing his partner understood.

"But you can't always anticipate," Danny continued. "Kids have minds of their own and they don't always think through potential consequences. And it really does happen in the blink of an eye."

Steve sighed heavily, rubbing his face with both hands. "I've had missions go south where I didn't second guess myself as much."

"Those missions didn't involve your baby girl."

Steve looked at him, his words simple but the meaning heavy.

"Look," Danny said. "Short of wrapping 'em in bubble wrap – and believe me, I've been tempted – you can't protect them from everything. No matter how much you want to."

Steve didn't reply, but also didn't look away.

"It wasn't your fault," Danny said again. "And she's okay."

Steve gave him a small, wry smile. "You sound like Catherine."

"Then I'm definitely right." He nodded seriously. "You do your best to keep them safe, and you're there to help when accidents happen. That's being a good parent."

Steve nodded slowly. "Thanks, Danny," he said sincerely.

"Anytime," Danny replied, matching his tone.

Steve's phone buzzed with an incoming text and he pulled it from his pocket to check. Smiling, he showed Danny the picture of a grinning Angie doing a headstand against the wall, Cammie sitting beside her. A bruise was starting to form under her eye, but she was beaming like her normal self at her accomplishment.

Steve looked over at a movement in the doorway and saw Catherine standing there, phone in hand, showing the same picture from Esther on the screen. He glanced between Danny and Catherine, acknowledging both their efforts that morning to assuage his guilt, and smiled gratefully.

"She's okay," he said, and finally meant it.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Note: **Special thanks to my best friend who assuaged my own guilt in the real life version of this story several years ago.

And hugs to little Ryan in his cast!

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